basic processes
"In meditation practice we can experience gaps between the exhale and the inhale, between one thought dissolving and another appearing. The space between thoughts is the gentle and creative place of non-harm. The meditator learns to trust that quiet liminal space with patience because from it, new and surprising ways of seeing our lives emerge."
From an article I read today, a Buddhist perspective on the Occupy Wall Street movement. The title is "Remaining Human." Much of my life has seemed to be swirling around this theme, lately. Anyway, this quote made me want to make another attempt at meditation; I've flirted with the idea of it before, but have never been very good at quieting my mind. As soon as I sit still and quiet, as I begin to slip into that space... I have an overwhelming to pluck up a pen and paper and let the thoughts flow out. I clutch at them desperately and stuff them into forms and boxes and frames.
I suppose I need to learn to trust that still space, and my own mind. I need to not fear that the well will dry up, that the words will cease. The words, like breath, don't need to be claimed or bottled or pinned with a tight fist. They will come. One after the other, the most natural and reliable thing in the world. Why then, do I approach the world in such a panic, such a frenzy? I have to FIX myself and my life, I have to FIGURE IT ALL OUT. There's always something wrong, some way I could be better, something I'm not doing that I should, something I am doing that I simply must stop.
Sometimes I peek back into old entries, written in my darkest time. It was when I was first really getting into yoga, starting to trust my limbs to remember what to do. I wrote a lot in those days, though I'm not sure if I moved my feet much. This bit seemed relevant to my current moment, nevertheless, so I pulled it from the back files. On non-attachment, letting go, and trusting oneself:
"You can't hold a breath forever.
You have to let go.
Don't worry, you'll get another one."
From an article I read today, a Buddhist perspective on the Occupy Wall Street movement. The title is "Remaining Human." Much of my life has seemed to be swirling around this theme, lately. Anyway, this quote made me want to make another attempt at meditation; I've flirted with the idea of it before, but have never been very good at quieting my mind. As soon as I sit still and quiet, as I begin to slip into that space... I have an overwhelming to pluck up a pen and paper and let the thoughts flow out. I clutch at them desperately and stuff them into forms and boxes and frames.
I suppose I need to learn to trust that still space, and my own mind. I need to not fear that the well will dry up, that the words will cease. The words, like breath, don't need to be claimed or bottled or pinned with a tight fist. They will come. One after the other, the most natural and reliable thing in the world. Why then, do I approach the world in such a panic, such a frenzy? I have to FIX myself and my life, I have to FIGURE IT ALL OUT. There's always something wrong, some way I could be better, something I'm not doing that I should, something I am doing that I simply must stop.
Sometimes I peek back into old entries, written in my darkest time. It was when I was first really getting into yoga, starting to trust my limbs to remember what to do. I wrote a lot in those days, though I'm not sure if I moved my feet much. This bit seemed relevant to my current moment, nevertheless, so I pulled it from the back files. On non-attachment, letting go, and trusting oneself:
"You can't hold a breath forever.
You have to let go.
Don't worry, you'll get another one."